Utility costs are on the rise. Between January 2021 and September 2023, electric rates went up 38%. natural gas prices rose 24% between November 2021 and November 2022.
It is obvious we need to make homes more efficient to keep our energy bills in check. Is your home inefficient? Why guess? You can perform a Home Energy Score (HES) audit! John Owens Services has a Department of Energy-certified Home Energy Score Assessor that uses calculations and measurements to provide a score from 1-10 of your home. It is similar to giving a miles per gallon rating on a car; the higher the number, the more efficient the home.
Book Now Book NowThe energy score program was created using a formula developed by the U.S. Department of Energy to determine a home’s energy usage. A home energy assessment takes measurements in every room and rates your home on a scale of 1 to 10, with 1 being the least efficient and 10 being the most efficient. This assessment considers your home’s energy use and your estimated energy costs. The home energy score provides a list of upgrades to your home that can pay off in 10 years or less. Home energy assessments can also help you prioritize projects based on the associated costs.
Home energy assessments are always a good idea to determine the energy use in your home and how to improve it to save energy. Since it recommends upgrades with a short payoff for their energy savings, you know the investment will be worth it. If you are curious about your energy usage in your home and areas in which you can improve, this is the perfect time to get a Home Energy Score for your home.
Apart from knowing which energy upgrades to perform, having an official Home Energy Score on record can be very useful if you ever plan on selling your home. Potential buyers would like to have as much information about the home as possible. By making this aspect visible to them, they will be more interested in the home, especially if the score is high compared to others in the same neighborhood.
Before selling a home, taking care of the problem areas in home energy use can be a great way to make your home even more attractive to potential buyers, since it will have more to offer in terms of safety and energy savings from this assessment program.
A Home Energy Score assessor is a Department of Energy certified professional who will visit your home and conduct the Home Energy Audit. An assessor can be a licensed contractor, a home inspector, or a specialist in the home energy audit field. These professionals come to your home and conduct a home energy assessment, where they walk through the house to collect a large amount of information to provide your home with a rating based on its energy efficiency.
The following tasks are included in the HES:
These items are optional:
They will also get an estimate of total energy use from fuel type, operating conditions, and occupant behavior.
From this assessment, they will be able to give you a score between 1 and 10 on how efficient your home currently is before giving customized recommendations to make cost-effective improvements within the home as well as estimates of annual savings and return on investment for those upgrades.
With the Home Energy Assessment, the auditor can also give homeowners a preview of what their Home Energy Score could increase to if they decide to make the recommended improvements. For example, if your home starts out with a score of 3, implementing the energy efficiency upgrades recommended from the test could bump the score up to a 7. Scores from Home Energy Audits will also show you the estimated annual savings with less energy consumed in the home.
Next, we begin the process of starting to plan any future upgrades to improve your Home Energy Score. Estimates for upgrades are included as part of the audit. John Owens Services will also be able to obtain permits, install equipment, and assist with any associated rebates.
Typically, a home energy audit will cost around $399; the price may vary depending on the size of the home. BayREN offers rebates for home energy assessments that could be available to you. It is always important to ask about any potential rebates you may be eligible for when it comes to home energy assessments. Any upgrades recommended and sold will come with additional costs for the services.
John Owens Services has a certified HES assessor on staff. We can have an assessor perform the home energy analysis for you and start you on the first step to cost-effectively improving your home. With our trade licenses in plumbing, radiant heating & boilers, heating, ventilating & AC, electrical, and general building, we are also qualified to perform any upgrades to your home recommended from the analysis! We can work on multiple projects that can make sure your house has superior indoor air quality with heating and cooling and that you have access to all of the energy solutions that will improve your home’s efficiency.
When you call John Owens for home energy assessments, we can complete work on equipment like high-efficiency heating and cooling appliances, insulation to maintain better indoor temperatures, redoing ductwork so that it doesn’t leak or collect dust and moisture, and much more. We leave your home in the same or better condition than when we arrived!
Book Now Book NowOur philosophy is simple, we always want to maintain equipment to give it the longest life possible. Next, we want to focus on repairing when something goes wrong. Then only as the last choice, we replace equipment when needed. That’s the John Owens Way.
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